Enraeld Djulabinyanna Munkara

The practice of Tiwi figure carving stems from Pukumani funeral carving: spectacular carved and painted poles that are placed around the grave during ceremonies for the dead. This figurative element is in keeping with the longstanding innovative and evolving nature of the Tiwi artistic tradition, even though it developed at the time of European arrival and influence. Enraeld Munkara was one of the most pre-eminent early sculptors, recognisable by the distinct expressiveness of his work as well as the characteristic stance of his hunched, mourning figures, their arms extending down from a bulbous head. They portray the characters of myth and are often double sided, or Janus-like, with negative spaces similar to they way they would be sculpted as part of Pukumani poles. Enraeld’s carvings capture the movement of the ritual dance. They seem alive and mobile, with delicately painted faces and the geometric body designs that are seen in Pukumani ceremony. Their haunting, human quality has made them highly regarded by collectors and major collecting institutions. Besides being a gifted artist, he was a ceremonial leader and a man of high ritual authority. Pukumani denotes a taboo and is a period of time in which certain tasks are forbidden, including the speaking of the deceased’s name. This accounts somewhat for the plethora of names that Tiwi often have or use and which have often confused outsiders. The dramatic rituals of Pukumani are mythic in origin. The enacting of the story of how death came into the world is performed over days. It is a story of human desire and misdemeanour that brought to a close an Eden-like creation period, similar to the Dreamtime. Artistic talent has always been greatly admired and rewarded in Tiwi culture, encouraging a committed professionalism amongst individuals and whole families. This in turn has allowed for a fascinating degree of creative control and experimentation within it. This explains the verve and vigour of these funerary carvings, even in the face of human mortality. Enraeld’s carvings were grave markers that were placed upon the grave after burial. They appeased the parting spirit who would stop to talk to them upon rising for its journey to the spirit world. The carvings evoke the powerful grief of the Pukumani period. This attention and sensitivity to the spirit world perhaps explains why Dorothy Bennett, a prolific collector of Tiwi art during the 1950s and 60s, would always find Enraeld waiting for her when she arrived to buy some of his work. At the time there was no phone available at Milikapiti on Melville Island where Enraeld was living. It was the preferred place for acquiring works due to its relative independence from missionary control. In 1957, the Art Gallery of NSW commissioned a large installation of Pukumani poles. It heralded a dramatic entry for the Tiwi into the mainstream art world. Many items from Dorothy Bennett’s private collection are now housed in the National Museum of Australia and other institutions. The electrifying geometric designs of Tiwi art reverberate with an energy and meaning that has been condensed and abstracted from the lived experience of generations. The dances that accompany the installation of Pukamani poles are no less riveting. Besides his enigmatic figures, Enraeld less frequently carved birds, usually ducks and owls.  As an elder, he became the leader of the Tikalaru people in south-west Bathurst Island and is seen in archival photographs with a distinctive cloth covering his lower face. This is because he suffered the disfiguring effects of the tropical disease yaws. In the museums that now provide inspirational resources for present and future generations, Enraeld stands as a master.  He was a gentle man whose dedication and dexterity are felt in the evocative character of his carvings Profile author: Sophie Baka   Group Exhibitions: 2003 – Tactility: two centuries of Indigenous objects, textiles and fibre, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. 1990 - Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. 1989 - Aboriginal Art: The Continuing Tradition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. 1974 - Australian Aboriginal Art from the Louis A. Allen Collection, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, California Palace of the Legion of Honor. 1972 - Australian Aboriginal Art, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. 1969 - Australian Aboriginal Art - The Louis A. Allen Collection, R. H. Lowie Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley 1966 - Art of the Dreamtime, the Dorothy Bennett Collection of Aboriginal Art, touring exhibition, Tokyo, Japan. 1963 - Art of Arnhem Land, David Jones, Sydney. Bibliography:    Allen, L., 1975, Time Before Morning: Art and Myth of the Australian Aborigines, Thomas Crowell Company, New York. Caruana, W., 1987, Australian Aboriginal Art, a Souvenir Book of Aboriginal Art in the Australian National Gallery, Australian National Gallery, Parkes, Australian Capital Territory. (C) Caruana, W., 1993, Aboriginal Art, Thames and Hudson, London. (C) O'Ferrall, M., 1990, Keepers of the Secrets, Aboriginal Art from Arnhemland in the Collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. (C)